


Counseling the Counselor

by enigmaticblue



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-17
Updated: 2010-12-17
Packaged: 2017-10-13 17:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who counsels the counselor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Counseling the Counselor

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the hc_bingo prompt, “counseling/therapy”

Kate Heightmeyer watched the door slide closed behind her last appointment of the day and let out a sigh of relief. Between her regular sessions and squeezing in emergency grief counseling for half the expedition, her week had been all too full.

 

She quickly typed up her notes on the most recent session; Kate had learned the hard way that if she didn’t do that immediately, the next crisis would almost certainly interfere. And with another crisis came more paperwork, until she was so far behind she was she was drowning in it.

 

Stopping halfway through, Kate took a deep breath and tried to stem the flood of emotion. She’d kept her professional mask through the session while Dr. Biro talked through her grief, but her control slipped now.

 

Carson had been a colleague, one of the few with whom Kate had felt comfortable consulting on her patients. They had both been bound by the same rules of confidentiality, operating outside the American military structure, but still part of it.

 

Kate was having trouble dealing with her own sense of loss; she wasn’t sure she was in the right frame of mind to deal with her patients’.

 

She pressed shaking fingers to her temples and took several deep breaths. She might be nearing the breaking point, but she couldn’t leave the expedition now. She’d worked hard to build rapport.

 

Kate needed an uninterrupted evening to pull herself together; she wanted a hot shower, a meal, and one of the books the _Daedalus_ had brought on its last run.

 

She sighed, deciding that she’d done enough for the evening, and logged off her computer. Kate had just made certain the door to her office was locked when Dr. Weir strode around the corner.

 

“Dr. Heightmeyer,” Weir called. “I wondered if I could have a moment.”

 

Kate felt her heart sink, but she tried not to allow her disappointment to show on her face. “Of course. Did we have an appointment?”

 

The question came out sharper than she’d intended, and Weir’s smile froze in place. “No, we didn’t. I’m sorry.”

 

“No, I’m sorry,” Kate said instantly. “That came out wrong. It’s just been a really long day.”

 

Weir’s eyes sharpened. “More like a really long couple of weeks.”

 

“That, too,” Kate agreed. “Let me just unlock—”

 

“No, that’s not necessary,” Weir said. “I actually wanted to see if you’d like to have dinner with me.”

 

Kate blinked, a little surprised at the offer. She rarely had company for meals. “Is there something in particular you wanted to discuss, Dr. Weir?”

 

“Call me Elizabeth.”

 

The invitation was accompanied by a smile that Kate found herself returning when she agreed, “Elizabeth.”

 

“There were two things,” Elizabeth said, beginning to lead Kate down the hall in the direction of the mess.

 

Kate heaved a purely internal sigh. There went her free evening, but she would at least be getting dinner. She’d skipped lunch to catch up on paperwork, and she needed to eat.

 

“I wanted to get your take on a replacement for Dr. Beckett,” Elizabeth said, lowering her voice as a couple of scientists approached from the opposite direction.

 

Kate had suspected this was coming, so she nodded. “I’ll help all I can. And the second?”

 

Elizabeth put a hand on Kate’s arm, bringing them both to a halt. “How are _you_? I know that you and Dr. Beckett were colleagues, and you were close.”

 

Kate swallowed the ever-ready tears. “I miss him,” she said simply. “I honestly don’t know that there’s anyone who can fill his shoes.”

 

Elizabeth squeezed Kate’s arm before releasing her. “I agree. This will probably sound stupid, but if you ever want someone to talk to on a personal level, my door is always open.”

 

It was one of the best offers Kate had had all week. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “I may take you up on that, although right now I think I’d rather talk about you and Dr. Branton.”

 

Elizabeth accepted the change of subject with good grace, her cheeks flushing a little. “Does _everyone_ know about that?”

 

Kate felt a real smile pull at her lips. “I could bore you with the psychological and sociological reasons for why people in a closed society like to gossip, but I won’t.”

 

Elizabeth shook her head. “Really, there’s _nothing_ going on there.”

 

“Really,” Kate echoed with a smile and felt her grief ease. “Then tell me about the nothing.”


End file.
